Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎12v] (24/320)

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the chief of the General Staff and the Acting Minister of War. Aeroplanes
began to fly over the saluting point soon after the march-past started. The
formation flying was not very good, the alignments being irregular. Ac
cording to the French Military Attach^ and other observers there were sixty-
six-planes taking part. Actually however I believe, from a reliable source,
that the correct number was fifty-two, made up as follows :—
Tiger moths
. Five flights of five machines • •
25
Audax and Fury
. Four flights of five machines •
20
Audax and Fury
. One flight of seven machines
7
Total
52
No stunting was attempted.
6. The units marched past in the following order :—
(i) 30 troops of girl guides, the average strength of each troop being
about 30 ; there could not, therefore, have been much more
than 900 girl guides, though the local newspapers reported
double that number.
(ii) About 2,200 Boy Scouts.
liii) Students from the secondary schools, in their grey uniform suits
and peaked caps ; numbering about 2,000.
(iv) The cadets of the military school. Strength about the same as
last year ; i.e., about 1,200.
(v) Three platoons of the Iranian Navy, average strength 60. The
French Military Attache has heard that they were all from the
Caspian Division, but it is more probable that they were com
posed in the same way as last year ; i.e., one platoon from the
Caspian Division and the other two from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Division.
(w) Four platoons of the Iranian Air Force, each platoon consisting
of four files of about 24 men each.
(vii) Two battalions of engineers, one from the first and one from the
second division.
t v iii) Eight regiments of infantry, four being from the first division and
V four from the second. Each regiment consisted of three batta An extra allowance of pay granted to soldiers involved in special field service or to public servants on special duty.
lions.
(ix) Light artillery on heavy-draught Hungarian shire-horses, recently
imported.
The guns were 75 m.m. Bofors ; one brigade from the first division and
one from the second division; each brigade consisting of 6 four-gun
batteries.
(x) Field Artillery—twelve four-gun batteries of Skoda 1-05 m.m.
guns.
(xi) The cavalry school ; about 140 riders.
(xii) Four cavalry regiments, two from each division. Each regiment
V had 8 Maxim machine-guns, of Swiss license, and four
squadrons of swords, each squadron having eight light machme-
guns.
Ixiii) Horse artillery. Three four-gun batteries of guns. There
V seems a great doubt what these guns really were ; different
authorities say they were Schneider guns, or Russian guns ot
an old pattern, or Austrian guns of a recent pattern.